Please note: the results below are estimates based on current (limited) understanding of the impact process and come with large uncertainties; they should be used with caution, particularly in the case of peculiar input parameters. All values are given to three significant figures but this does not reflect the precision of the estimate. For more information about the uncertainty associated with our calculations and a full discussion of this program, please refer to this article
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Your Inputs:
- Distance from Impact: 50.00 km ( = 31.10 miles )
- Projectile diameter: 10.00 km ( = 6.21 miles )
- Projectile Density: 1500 kg/m3
- Impact Velocity: 17.00 km per second ( = 10.60 miles per second )
- Impact Angle: 45 degrees
- Target Density: 2500 kg/m3
- Target Type: Sedimentary Rock
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Energy:
- Energy before atmospheric entry: 1.13 x 1023 Joules = 2.71 x 107 MegaTons TNT
- The average interval between impacts of this size somewhere on Earth during the last 4 billion years is 5.8 x 107years
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Major Global Changes:
- The Earth is not strongly disturbed by the impact and loses negligible mass.
- The impact does not make a noticeable change in the tilt of Earth's axis (< 5 hundreths of a degree).
- The impact does not shift the Earth's orbit noticeably.
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Crater Dimensions:
- What does this mean?
- Transient Crater Diameter:
50.6 km ( = 31.4 miles )
- Transient Crater Depth: 17.9 km ( = 11.1 miles )
- Final Crater Diameter:
84.7 km ( = 52.6 miles )
- Final Crater Depth: 1.13 km ( = 0.699 miles )
- The crater formed is a complex crater.
- The volume of the target melted or vaporized is 713 km3 = 171 miles3
- Roughly half the melt remains in the crater, where its average thickness is 355 meters ( = 1160 feet ).
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Thermal Radiation:
- What does this mean?
- Time for maximum radiation: 5.7 seconds after impact
- Your position is inside the fireball.
- The fireball appears 439 times larger than the sun
- Thermal Exposure: 2.16 x 1010 Joules/m2
- Duration of Irradiation: 21 minutes
- Radiant flux (relative to the sun): 17200
- Effects of Thermal Radiation:
Clothing ignites
Much of the body suffers third degree burns
Newspaper ignites
Plywood flames
Deciduous trees ignite
Grass ignites
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Seismic Effects:
- What does this mean?
The major seismic shaking will arrive approximately 10 seconds after impact.- Richter Scale Magnitude: 9.6 (This is greater than any earthquake in recorded history)
- Mercalli Scale Intensity at a distance of 50 km:
X. Most masonry and frame structures destroyed with their foundations. Some well-built wooden structures and bridges destroyed. Serious damage to dams, dikes, embankments. Large landslides. Water thrown on banks of canals, rivers, lakes, etc. Sand and mud shifted horizontally on beaches and flat land. Rails bent slightly.
XI. As X. Rails bent greatly. Underground pipelines completely out of service.
XII. As X. Damage nearly total. Large rock masses displaced. Lines of sight and level distorted. Objects thrown into the air.
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Ejecta:
- What does this mean?
The ejecta will arrive approximately 1.69 minutes after the impact.- Your position is beneath the continuous ejecta deposit.
- Average Ejecta Thickness: 467 meters ( = 1530 feet )
- Mean Fragment Diameter: 3.58 meters ( = 11.7 feet )
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Air Blast:
- What does this mean?
The air blast will arrive approximately 2.53 minutes after impact.- Peak Overpressure: 4.05e+07 Pa = 405 bars = 5750 psi
- Max wind velocity: 5120 m/s = 11400 mph
- Sound Intensity: 152 dB (Dangerously Loud)
- Damage Description:
Multistory wall-bearing buildings will collapse.
Wood frame buildings will almost completely collapse.
Multistory steel-framed office-type buildings will suffer extreme frame distortion, incipient collapse.
Highway truss bridges will collapse.
Highway girder bridges will collapse.
Glass windows will shatter.
Cars and trucks will be largely displaced and grossly distorted and will require rebuilding before use.
Up to 90 percent of trees blown down; remainder stripped of branches and leaves.
Tell me more...
Click here for a pdf document that details the observations, assumptions, and equations upon which this program is based. It
describes our approach to quantifying the important impact processes that might affect the people, buildings, and landscape in the
vicinity of an impact event and discusses the uncertainty in our predictions. The processes included are: atmospheric entry, impact
crater formation, fireball expansion and thermal radiation, ejecta deposition, seismic shaking, and the propagation of the atmospheric
blast wave.
Recent improvements in the airblast calculation are described here.
Earth Impact Effects Program Copyright 2004, Robert Marcus, H.J. Melosh, and G.S. Collins
These results come with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY